Myspace Fighting

Popular dance moves and inside jokes are shared on Myspace.com. But so is viscous name calling and the spreading of high school rumors.

"There's a website with just a whole bunch of girls on there with STD's it's really degrading, it's bogus," says Auburn High School sophomore Cheryl Wylde.

These mean messages serve as the breeding ground for hallway brawls. Not for boys, but the girls.

"No hair pulling no biting no scratching, it's just all out punching and street fighting," says Auburn High School freshman Raquel Wells.

Rockford School District Superintendent Doctor Dennis Thompson says just in the last month, 50 girls have been suspended for fighting. Most of these fights stem from hard feelings over Myspace. And are using weapons to solve their battles.

"The fight we had with locks and they hit each other with locks and whatever they could find," Wells says.

Some students blame the boys for egging it on, making the girls want to show off even more.

"Dudes when they fight they don't sit there and do all of the crazy stuff females do females they go crazy when fighting they'll pull hair pull shirts off all kids of stuff," says Auburn freshman Jason Lawrence.

Doctor Thompson says it's tough to monitor Myspace since you can't access it on school computers. This makes it difficult for teachers to stop a fight before it happens.

So far this year, six students have been expelled for fighting after a Myspace disagreement. Dr. Thompson is meeting with some women civic groups next week to discuss this ongoing problem.

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